Crappie are not indigenous to Ontario. They are shallow spawners so their eggs get stuck to the feathers of waterfowl and get carried north in the spring and since Merkel's Camp is within the Mississippi Flyway that's a lot of ducks dropping Crappie eggs into Wabigoon Lake and Dinorwic Lake. Even thought they are a foreign species they are not considered an invasive species because it appears that they have caused no ill-effects on natural fish populations.

Crappie populations seemed to have had a really slow start until the early 90s when their numbers just exploded. Now Wabigoon Lake and Dinorwic Lake are stuffed with them. We welcome the Crappie because it's just one more fish to help our Pike and Muskie get fat. Guests also love Crappie because they are fun to catch and taste fantastic. Every year we have more and more people specifically inquiring about our Crappie fishing.

Crappie can be caught in great numbers as well as good sizes. If you specifically target Crappie and use baits the Pike, Walleyes, Perch and bass with stay away from, you should catch 30 or 40 in a day. Because the water in the lake is so nutrient along with many structures the Crappie love such as weedy bays and patches of Wild Rice, the Crappie can reach great sizes. You should be able to catch a few well over a pound. Many of them are in the 13-inch to 17-inch range. Since you are allowed to keep 15 of them with a sport license, it's a great way to help maximize the amount of fish fillets for the big fish fry back home.